A Spoonful of Turkish Cuisine: Soup Varieties
Exploring a bowlful of culinary gems with a hearty assortment of Turkish soups.
The Piping Hot Heritage of Turkish Soup
From the Ottoman era, soup gained popularity as a nourishing breakfast option and gradually expanded its repertoire to diverse flavours!
Janissaries carrying soup potGoTürkiye
During the Ottoman era, soup was a significant part of the daily meals of the Janissaries, with breakfast soup holding particular importance.
Commanders of Janissary and Acemi regiments were even referred to as çorbacı (soup masters) due to soup’s essential place in their diet.
The distribution of soup in Ottoman territories' soup kitchens twice daily was also crucial for workers and those in need.
It provided nourishment to students, pilgrims, and travelers with rice/wheat-based soups, accompanied by distinct regional bread types.
Today, soup is a popular starter before lunch and dinner, but regional specialties offer rich and filling recipes that can even substitute for a meal.
Gaziantep cuisine, for example, serves unique soups like beyran exclusively in the morning.
Regional Turkish Soup Delicacies
Diverse soup recipes shine through the lands of Türkiye with a rich variety of seasonal ingredients.
Bamya (Okra) Soup
Hailing from the heart of Konya, bamya soup is made with tender okra pods, collected during the summer months. It is a tasty regional delicacy with a succulent addition of lamb and salça, Turkish tomato paste.
Dried okra soup by GoTürkiyeGoTürkiye
Börek (Pastry) Soup
Gaziantep's delightful speciality is with dough, meat, and legumes blended to perfection in börek soup. This intricate dish is prepared with stir-frying ground beef with dough pieces, and doused in refreshing yoghurt for a balanced flavour!
Tutmaç Soup
Encasing the ingenuity of Turkish cuisine, tutmaç takes the soup to new heights with its tantalising meyane, a blend of yogurt and eggs mixed with aromatic ingredients like lentils, chickpeas, noodles, and even beef!
Karalahana (Kale) Soup
Karalahana soup is a mouth-watering Black Sea delicacy with a generous mix of vegetables such as kale, corn, beans, and peas. As it also boasts a healthy amount of bulghur, beans, and potatoes, it becomes a delightful feast on its own!
Bulamaç Soup
Another luscious, buttery Konya recipe, enriched with the toasty taste of caramelised onions creates the bulamaç soup. Two variations in this diverse recipe: sweet - pekmez drizzle, crispy yufka pieces in butter; and savoury - salt, served with yufka crumbs.
Let each spoonful of these delectable soups welcome you to the warmth and comfort of Turkish culinary culture, a timeless tradition of delightful flavours.
